MOSES LAKE, Wash. (Tribune News Service) — This year's Moses Lake Airshow will be a little louder than the previous three.

Everything from the most modern warplanes in U.S. inventory to one of the oldest combat jets flying is scheduled to show off and grace the skies of this year's Moses Lake Airshow, which is scheduled for Saturday and Sunday at Grant County International Airport.

“Loud is good,” Airport Director Rich Mueller said . “The (F/A-18G) Growlers are back. They were super popular last year and they enjoy coming here as well. We see them every week.”

While they are not scheduled to perform, Mueller said four U.S. Marine Corps F-35s are set to do a flyover sometime Saturday. They will not do any aerobatic flying, and they will not land, but they will show what the plane can do.

"Within the envelope of their normal flying, they can still do some pretty impressive things," Mueller said. "We're asking, begging and pleading with them to see if they're going to stick around long enough to do something on Sunday as well. But all we know is Saturday."

Gates open at Grant County International Airport at 10 a.m. both days, with flying set to begin at 12:30 p.m. Scheduled to perform this year on both Saturday and Sunday are:

• The E/A-18 Growler Air Show Team from Naval Air Station Whidbey Island

• The Wings of Blue U.S. Air Force Academy Parachute Team

• Kyle Fowler of Go EZ Aerobatics in his Long EZ

• Vampire Airshows De Havilland DH-115 Vampire

• Canadian flying team Yellow Thunder

• Mike Tryggvason on 10G Aerosports

• David Costa of Renegade AV8R in his Polish-built TS-11 jet trainer

• Tom Larkin in his JSX minijet

• Yuichi Takagi of REDFOX Airshows in his Pitts Special S-2S

On display on the GCIA's secondary runway, where spectators will also gather, will be a U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III transport, several World War II-era aircraft from the Erickson Aircraft Collection in Madras, Ore., Eviation's all-electric Alice airplane, a collection of U.S. Army transport vehicles and helicopters, a Canadian Forces CH149 Cormorant transport helicopter and a T-38 trainer used by U-2 pilots at Beale Air Force Base in California.

There will also be food and a veterans' hospitality tent. This year's air show will take place Father's Day Weekend, rather than the one prior.

"That was feedback from our customers," Mueller said, adding the hope is that will bring more people out.

Airshow Director Terry Quick said the interest from jet performers shows that despite being a small air show, Moses Lake is attracting significant attention.

"This is a world-class event," Quick said. "It's coming along. We're getting more volunteers, and we're making improvements on things each year."

Larkin will be making his fourth appearance at the Moses Lake Airshow this year in his mini-jet. Larkin, who was an F-15C pilot and trainer for the USAF for many years, said the little jet helps him connect to kids, and that is the main reason he flies his tiny plane at air shows across the country.

"Kids can relate to it," Larkin said. "It's so small and cool, it grabs their attention. They say, 'I can do that, it's just my size.'"

In addition, the air show is also staging a fly-in for private pilots, who will get breakfast both Saturday and Sunday, discounted air show tickets and special access to camping areas at both the GCIA and the Moses Lake Municipal Airport if they choose to fly in there, according to Rod Richeson, chair of the Moses Lake Airport Commission and owner of Blue Sky Aviation.

"We're asking everybody who flies into kind of allow their aircraft to be displayed," Richeson said.

Richeson said while the big, loud military jets draw a lot of people to airshows, smaller aircraft such as the ones he repairs and teaches people to fly are also a crucial draw.

“You can go out there and see Cessnas, Beechcraft, those are regular-people airplanes that are much more accessible,” Richeson said. “And there’s lots of (flight) schools around here. So people can really have the opportunity to get involved in aviation that way.”

Mueller said the fly-in gives pilots a chance to come and enjoy the air show, and it will also inspire young people with an interest in airplanes and flying to make aviation their career.

"For most of us who are pilots, we started out as somebody who was walking around on an airport and we met somebody who was willing to show us their little airplane," Mueller said. "That's an opportunity we want to allow as many people as possible to have."

For more information, or to buy tickets, individuals can visit the Moses Lake Airshow website.

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